Hillary Clinton Makes History
Hillary Rodham Clinton makes history.
Today is an exciting day for me.
At last a woman has become the nominee of a major political party. And Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of the most qualified people to ever run for President:
- Secretary of State
- Two-term Senator
- First Lady of the United States and Arkansas — and an important adviser in both of those roles
Hillary also recognizes that Donald’s,
“Make America great again” catch-phrase really means “Take America back to the bad old days.”
The bad old days for women
The Donald appeals to many sexist voters. Sad.
A few things women (especially married women) often could not do in the bad old days:
- Vote
- Be protected from beatings from her husband
- Get a divorce
- Get custody of her children
- Have a right to her wages
- Own property
- Run for President
Those were problems back in the 1800s.
Here are a few things women could not do in the more recent bad old days — or sometimes even now:
- Apply for any job she’s qualified for
- Be paid as much as a man
- Go to Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth… or pretty much any Ivy League
- Access birth control
- Not be blamed for being raped
- Get a divorce without convincing a judge she’d been abused “enough”
- Have her own credit (if she were married)
- Seriously run for President
HRC wins nomination.
But can Hillary win?
This turn from being prohibited from voting to the promise of a woman as President of the United States lifts my heart!
As the New York Times put it:
This achievement is worth cheering by all, regardless of party, because it further opens the door to female leadership in every sphere.
But can she win?
HRC now has the vote of over half the people in the Democratic Party (not superdelegates). And while it’s true that Bernie is more popular among the general electorate, no one has attacked him. It’s easy to be popular when no one criticizes you.
Yet Hillary has been pilloried since 1992. (The accusations rarely hold up. But if you repeat something enough people start to believe it.)
Ms. Clinton gets pushed down but gets back up again.
She recalls this advice from her mother:
She told me to never back down from a bully, which it turns out was pretty good advice.
If anyone can deal with a bully like her likely opponent, it is Hillary Rodham Clinton.
I call her an inspiration.
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Posted on June 8, 2016, in feminism, politics/class inequality, sexism, women and tagged feminism, Hillary Rodham Clinton, historic nomination, sexism, US Presidency, women. Bookmark the permalink. 69 Comments.
BroadBlogs 
It’s nice reading this post two and a half years later. I often forget what an accomplishment it is to finally have had the first female nominee of a major political party. So much has happened within Donald Trump’s presidency that has made the life of women and minorities pretty scary and unstable. When I think about what could have been, and what progress we could have made if the results were different, I can lose sight of the progress we have made. I love that you pointed out that when she gets pushed down she will always get back up. The 2016 election results would test anyone’s ability to be able to recover and get back into the public’s eye. It would have been a lot easier for her to fade into the background and I don’t think many people would have blamed her if that’s what she wanted to do. But, against all odds, she got back up and is still fighting for equality and is still using her public voice to make a difference. She continues to inspire me and even though she may not be our president, I believe she has made a significant imprint on American history. It was great reflecting on the promise that two and a half years ago brought, and gives me hope for what we can do next.
Today，more and more college graduates, especially girls,have great employment pressure.The employing units in the recruitment use various causes of discrimination against girls. They are treated differently and They do not have the same rights as the boys.
As far as I am concerned, women can over perform men in many aspects such as carefulness, patience, delicacy. female employers also should have confidence and the firm belief hat if they are real, they can surely find a satisfactory job despite all the prejudices. I firmly believe that women should be given the same rights as men because they are equally important in all human activities. Therefore, the personnel director should offer more opportunities to female applicants, so that they won’t lose their talented staff.
Yeah, not only do women have to over-perform, but sometimes being competent is looked down on when it’s seen as not fitting your proper gender role, Like strong female leaders.
As this article states, Hillary would get insulted, and yet get back on her feet, I do see how strong Hillary was just by doing that, and if anything, women should consider her as an great example, for someone that got bully and decided to never give up. And they should also take a look at Hillary’s campaign because it shows, how strong of a fighter she was.
She is such a strong woman!
I personally will not vote for Hillary. Not because she is a women, but let us face it. She is warmonger, no better than her male counterparts. She was responsible for destroying Lybia, and she also was supporting Iraq War. I want a competent compassionate person, not warhawk who loves wall Street and who starts wars destroying lives of people in other. Countries. It is all about identity. I remember election of 2008 and how Obama was promised to be hope and change. 8 years later, what is to show for. Escalated war, persecuted whistleblowers. If there is a good candidate, I will vote for Ralph Nader, or Jill Stein of the green party. Both Trump and Hillary are bed fellows with our elites who only want to suck us dry. Just my thoughts. And Hillary is not a feminist. She betrayed women, especially women of third world. Just my thoughts.
The US has used large amounts of aid and counter-insurgency training to enhance stability and reduce violence in war-ravaged Colombia, in what has been called “the most successful nation-building exercise by the United States in this century”.
I know that sometimes hindsight is 20/20. The invasion of Libya was meant as a humanitarian act to prevent another genocide like Rwanda and liberate people from a dictator. Unfortunately the intervention had a big downside.
So I sometimes worry about quick judgments, especially accusations made by opponents, when you may not understand the whole thing. Although you may be right. so that’s why I’m wondering about the policies you mentioned.
Regardless, it still says something about the American people that they will now nominate a woman for a major party, when they never would in the past.
Given the amount of sexism and unconscious bias we still have in our country, it’s amazing that she has done as well as she has.
Someone wrote a really interesting article on Daily Kos, demonstrating how much of that Hillary hate comes from sexism and not from reality. I plan to post on this too.
(For instance, there is no correlation between hatred for her and dishonesty — she is one of the most honest candidates ever. But there is a huge correlation between hatred for her and her seeking higher power — which would be perfectly fine if she were a guy.)
Regardless of what type of president she will be, I believe her being president alone is good for women. It will open many doors for women. It will be a great example for other countries since the United States is a leader. Just the fact that she has come this far alone is inspiring for many many girls and women. If we work hard enough we can make our dreams come true and the future generations too. Hillary is a shining beacon to all women and girls. She is a mother, a wife, business woman, a policy maker. She is a reminder that we can wear multiple hats and that we can be many things. It will break many gender stereotypes if she wins the presidential elections and hopefully catapult women’s issues about inequality to the forefront. Issues like equal pay and health and career opportunities. Compared to men we have very few female CEOs.
Her nomination shows that we have come a ways on gender equality. If she becomes president then having a woman president will seem pretty normal to little girls. They are more likely to aim higher!
This is progress. I hope that Hillary’s recent success will ignite more progress for women in the future. In addition, she is certainly qualified to hold the office of the President.
“Hillary also recognizes that Donald’s,“Make America great again” catch-phrase really means “Take America back to the bad old days.” This has also revealed the sexist and racist nature that is still prevalent in the US today. Most Trump supporters were not persuaded by his irrational rhetoric, but they already nurtured his sexism and prejudice from before he ran for President — he simply gave them a public platform to publicize their ideas and opinions. Some people don’t even listen to what Clinton has to say, or proposes, they just ignore her because she is a woman… The next months will be highly interesting…!
Go Hillary!
It’s great to see a woman running for President. Back then women had no rights for many things. So it’s awesome to see how much has changed over the past centuries. But on the other hand with Donald running for president too, he wants to America to be how it was back then. Being racist and womend having no rights. Yet Hilary has been known to constantly lie about everything. I honestly don’t want neither Hilary or Donald to win but if I had to choose it would be hilary. I love Bernie and wish he wins president!! He is selfless and wants to HELP America not break america.
Hilary’s nomination, and the reaction to it, shows how are country is moving two steps forward and one step back, Complete with Donald Trump backlash.
Hilary’s nomination shows how much progress women have made. We’ve never gotten to this point before.
The reaction to her nomination shows how uncomfortable we are with women’s power. Someone tracked her popularity and found that whenever she was seeking a powerful job she became unpopular. Reflecting peoples discomfort with women seeking power.
When a man seeks power, like Bernie Sanders, People are much more comfortable with him. He’s selfless as he seeks power. But she is a power-monger.
And to complete the process we have Donald Trump and his “make America great again” slogan which really means “Take America back to the past when women and people of color had little power.
Hmmm, I’m feeling a blog post come on. So thanks for this comment!
While I am personally a fan of Bernie Sanders, I think Hillary Clinton would make a great president. She is extremely qualified, smart, and fit for the job. People will always criticize her, particularly because she is a woman. Being a female just makes her more vulnerable to attacks. But like you mentioned in your post, she doesn’t let anyone bully her into a corner. She is extremely capable and will fight back and knock the bully down. If Sanders does not get elected, which is what I am predicting, I would love to see Hillary as our first female president. It would be amazing to witness such history in my lifetime.
Given the amount of sexism and unconscious bias we still have in our country, it’s amazing that she has done as well as she has.
Someone wrote a really interesting article on Daily Kos, demonstrating how much of that Hillary hate comes from sexism and not from reality. I plan to post on this too.
(For instance, there is no correlation between hatred for her and dishonesty — she is one of the most honest candidates ever. But there is a huge correlation between hatred for her and her seeking higher power — which would be perfectly fine if she were a guy.)
I think it’s a great that Hilary is making history for all women. I really didn’t think I would ever see this day that a woman is in the running for President of the United States. Especially when at one point and time women wasn’t even allow to vote. This is a great step for women in general. Even though this country has a long way to go as far as men and women being equal, this is truly a way of helping. I agree with Hilary, Donald Trumps statement about “making America great again” is exactly like rewinding back the hands of time where women wasn’t as free to do the things we are capable of doing today. I think Hilary is all about empowering woman, which is great because we need that. In order for America to be “great” again, we all need to be treat equal and fairly.
As a women who was voting for the first time in my life I seemed very set on voting for Hillary Clinton because she was a women. Although, I understand as a feminist wanting to change the views in women in power by possibly having the first women president but we are really hurting our progress. Since many feminist are so set on a goal that many of us sometimes many of us can be blinded hard truth that Clinton is not the best candidate. One the reason why I did not vote for her and will not vote for her is because I am a women of color who was one of the reforges from the Latin America that was escaping civil war on indigoes people. When I learned that made many of her policies around U.S. military involvement abroad have also caused more violence in parts of Latin America. I wanted to know more about her time as sectary of state.
Then I learned that she repeatedly and typically was pro-war talking points about “Iranian aggression” being the biggest threat to Middle Eastern stability were also especially rich given that she herself as U.S. senator and as Secretary of State advocated for aggression and the invasion of other countries illegally. I agree that she does publicly support women’s rights as human rights. However, just because she gives to Malala Fund but then has ordinance of Drones that are blowing up women in Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan I find that not very credible.
Although, I do believe everyone does deserve a second change Hillary Clinton has more than a one second change to really build her credibility. I know because Donald Trump is running everyone is trying vote any that is progressive to vote for Hillary so we don’t doom our country even more. However, this bigger than Hillary or even Trump because both are so very out of touch with 99 percent of Americans that struggling to survive. The only way to really change is if Clinton admits that she needs admits she has done many wrongs and is ready support real change in Democratic party and in politics. So just because she is women and I am not going voting her does not mean I am not a feminist. The most dangerous phrase is the language is “we’ve always done it this way.” The real reason is because I am not voting for her because she is not qualified to really start a real change of improving our country. Not because she is a women and that makes her unqualified. As a women of color and a feminist I have to use the facts of how she harmed many and is not ready to really ready to fight the status quo.
What policies in Latin America are you talking about?
Here’s the only thing I could find on US intervention in Latin America under Obama:
The US has used large amounts of aid and counter-insurgency training to enhance stability and reduce violence in war-ravaged Colombia, in what has been called “the most successful nation-building exercise by the United States in this century”.
I know that sometimes hindsight is 20/20. The invasion of Libya was meant as a humanitarian act to prevent another genocide like Rwanda and liberate people from a dictator. Unfortunately the intervention had a big downside.
So I sometimes worry about quick judgments, especially accusations made by opponents, when you may not understand the whole thing. Although you may be right. so that’s why I’m wondering about the policies you mentioned.
Regardless, it still says something about the American people that they will now nominate a woman for a major party, when they never would in the past.
Now all the general delegates are in, It is exciting that Hilary will become the first female presidential nominee from a major party, and possibly the first female president of United States of America. It is a very significant accomplishment, given now days politics is one of the places where women are being ignored the most.
However, I think people are “too excited” for this that actually build an image that the reason she got so many votes is she is woman. I head people argue things like she is able to get female voters because she is a woman; she can naturally address women issues and nobody would think this is just a political strategy because she’s women; she gets great exposure on media since beginning because she’s a woman.
None of above is true from my perspective. At least when I evaluate who I will vote for, I didn’t , not even for a little bit, evaluate Hilary as a woman. Like the blogger said, she is more than qualified, maybe one of the most qualified candidates during this election. She had great experience, she spotted lots of issues that people care and her approaches to those problems are more practical and realistic than Bernie’s.
I think the “women” label on Hilary is so bright that lots of people didn’t really see that she is the best candidate for the president in this election, and not even a little bit because she’s a woman. I think not until then, when people really evaluate Hilary just as an individual, can we say that females get the real equality in the society.
I’m very excited that Hillary has broken the gender barrier. And I was very excited when Barack Obama broke the racial barrier. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only reason we voted for them, especially when someone is the most qualified candidate. Just have to keep reminding folks of that, I guess.
Hilary is making history and it is a great step for women! Although she is very controversial I think that it is very respectable that she came this far. I agree with the comment that said Donald Trump’s quote of “making America great again” is like going back to the old days where it was not great for women. To truly be great, I think America needs to step into the future in which men and women are equal and Hilary is fighting for women’s rights. I watched an interview where someone stated that although the United States likes to be first in many things, however they are not first in giving equal rights to women. Women outside the United States have been in charge and been given great power and the country is still thriving and succeeding. So why can’t the United States follow in the bandwagon of others and treat men and women the same?
Women have be put down for so long and not treated fairly. Men still today are making more money than equal counter parts who are women. I think all women should vote for Hilary because women should support other women because the men are tearing them down. So why have women tear other women apart when me are already doing that.
I do wonder how much of the Hillary hate is grounded in sexism, conscious or not.
Hillary Clinton is undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights of the presidential election process. It seems we can see the growing consciousness of women’s participation in politics in the United States. Although Mrs Clinton is not the first presidential election of the female candidates, but no one in American history women have the opportunity to better than Hillary Clinton was elected President of the United States.
At June 9, U.S. President barack Obama spoken out , that support the former secretary of state Hillary Clinton to run for President next year, emphasize never like Hillary Clinton as “qualified” as President.
Barack Obama on the morning of the meeting in the White House Democrats another presidential candidate sanders, shortly after the end of the meeting, Clinton website released this a prerecorded video for 3 minutes and 15 seconds.Obama said in the video: “I want to congratulate Hillary Clinton became the assumption of the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, she made history.”Obama stressed that Mrs Clinton has courage, compassion and mind doing this job well.
👍
A few letters from the New York Times (see more here):
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/09/opinion/a-milestone-for-hillary-clinton-and-for-women.html?emc=edit_tnt_20160609&nlid=41602665&tntemail0=y&_r=0
To the Editor:
Re “Clinton Claims the Democratic Nomination” (front page, June 8):
I, a now retired Bernie backer, am “all in” for Hillary. She gave a very gracious and deeply emotional speech embracing compassion and tolerance so essential to our culture and so obviously lacking in the candidacy of Donald Trump.
I have to believe that all women were moved by the historic step that Mrs. Clinton’s nomination represents and that she portrayed with such modesty. And I’m glad that she chose to embrace her feminism rather than ignore it, as President Obama felt he had to do with race as the first African-American nominated for president.
We who supported Bernie Sanders must now join Mrs. Clinton to unify the Democratic Party and then the nation to keep it from the toxic divisiveness of Trumpism.
PAUL WORTMAN
Setauket, N.Y.
To the Editor:
I actually found myself starting to cry as I saw Hillary Clinton’s crowd waiting to hear her speak Tuesday night. This is an important, historic moment. I was so emotional and excited to sit with my two little girls and take it all in.
My 7-year-old will grow up thinking it normal that a woman can be president. She will know that her teachers truly mean it when they say it could be her one day. This is an incredible moment. Sanders supporters, please honor that. This matters.
DANA MICHELS
Santa Monica, Calif.
To the Editor:
Removing all superdelegates, Hillary Clinton still has a commanding lead after Tuesday’s primaries. Arguments to the contrary are fuzzy math. Surely the system is rigged in many ways, but Hillary really is leading and winning through the popular vote.
I would be happy with a world where Bernie became president, but claiming that the system is rigged just because his opponent is winning tragically dilutes his other, cogent arguments.
GEORGE WICHELNS
Brooklyn
Waltham, Mass.
To the Editor:
Bernie, I voted for you.
Now, be a mensch.*
DAVID KAPLAN
Gillette, N.J.
*Mensch (Yiddish) means “a person of integrity and honor.”
See more letters here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/09/opinion/a-milestone-for-hillary-clinton-and-for-women.html?emc=edit_tnt_20160609&nlid=41602665&tntemail0=y&_r=0
I’m hoping that Bernie will be drafted by the Green Party to run as their nominee with Jill Stein as the VP candidate…
If that happens the left will split and the right will win.
When Ralph Nader ran Green Party he split the left and Al Gore lost.
And so we got George W. Bush and a conservative Supreme Court with lifetime appointments.
Then why don’t most MILLENIAL WOMEN trust Hillary? Could it be that they know she’s a crooked liar who sloughed off ‘feminism” to save her Hubby’s a** when he could have been charged with RAPE AT LEAST ONCE,PROBABLY FAR MORE OFTEN?
Those of us who grew up during the Clinton administration saw so many lies hurled toward the Clintons to weaken them and the agenda of the left.
They were accused of murdering their friend and aide, accused of investment fraud when they had simply made a bad investment and lost money, and the list goes on and on.
Unfortunately, the onslaught of Republican lies did two things:
1) Successfully convinced a lot of people like you that the Clintons were crooked, weakened the left and helped the right.
Unfortunately, when you hear lies over and over again, people start believing them. It’s a great way to weaken your strongest candidates on the left.
2) With this experience it’s no wonder that Hillary believed that the rape claims were another right-wing attack of lies.
Now she will be the one who is punished instead of her husband.
Otherwise, Pres. Trump will surely be thanking you for supporting his racist agenda.
One reason Clinton received so many black votes is that the crooked black Establishment (as well as the Establishment in general),ESPECIALLY THE BLACK CLERGY,WHICH DELIVERS THEIR FLOCK TO THE DEMOCRATS FOR CARS,HOMES,ETC. FOR THEMSELVES WHILE THEIR POOR CONGREGATION GETS ZIP!!!!!) WAS IN THE BAG FROM JUMP!!!!!
When Bernie entered the race I was of two minds:
1) happy that he was moving the conversation and the Democratic Party left.
2) worried that his opponent would be demonized. Because I have seen that happen in so many races among Dems. Unfortunately #2 often happens with Bernie supporters, like you.
Someday President Trump will thank people like you.
I am glad that I live in a time where a woman can become the democratic nominee. While I might not agree with everything she offers, it is great to know that she not only made it this far in the race so far, but fought a hard fight against Bernie for it. Unlike Trump who’s opponents dropped out early. I hope that this signals a change in our country towards our attitudes about females in positions of power. On the flip side it does worry me about how much support Trump has, when he stands for a lot of the opposite. No matter who you stand for or what your personal views are, this election will be a big one for the history of our country. I look forward to seeing how it plays out and following along the entire way. I think that like you said Hilary has been getting a lot of flak for years, since Bill was in office. While Trump also has a lot of history to bring out and criticize, it is not political related.
Yes, it’s scarier than usual having Donald Trump running for office. Very important that progressives unite against him.
It did not surprise me when the news postings came out before the primary elections in California that Hillary Clinton had reached the ‘magic number’ of delegates to be the Democratic nominee for the election. We’ll never know how those postings effected the number of voters (especially those who were feeling the Bern) who decided to stay home and wait until July. I have mixed feelings about Sanders’ choice to stay in the race and fight till the end of this election. One way is that, although the chances are extremely slim, Sanders’ very well may clench the victory through the support of super delegates who may change their mind of Clinton. But I also feel that the Democratic party should unite, and focus all and every attention towards taking down Donald Trump.
I am confident that Clinton is a good enough debater to take on Trump, since let’s face it Trump will never have the political experience that Clinton has accumulated through her career. It is my fear that those who are endorsing Trump (a number that keeps rising everyday) are doing it simply because he’s the last man standing, or because they really believe that Trump is going to make ‘America better’. When I listen to the news and hear callers who are backing Trump, they almost sound reluctant to publicly endorse him, but at the same time believe that American needs a strong leader who will make a change with a firm, conservative grip.
I’m hoping the Democrats will unite! So important!
As a feminist, I love Hillary because I just love powerful women in general. However, she is a total white feminist and has no concern with intersectionality whatsoever.
Bernie, while a man, allows women of color to talk about their oppression and give them voice. When BLM took over his stage, he silently stepped aside and allowed them to talk because he understands that has a white man he has no place to talk about these matters. Hillary has yet to regard intersectionality or the fact that she called black people super predators. Sorry, but Hillary in my opinion is the lesser of two evils (Trump and Hillary) and Bernie has my vote.
So why do you think the vast majority of people of color have voted for Hillary over Bernie?
And when she talked about super predators she didn’t make any comment on their color. The people making the comment seem to be equating super predators and people of color. It’s not necessary to do that.
The media is run by powerful and rich people who can use Hillary once she is in office. Because of this, they never broadcast any achievements or milestones Bernie has done, such as all his California rallys having thousands of supporters, making people believe Bernie doesn’t have a chance of winning the election. This then causes people, even those of color, to vote Hillary because she is the lesser of the evil (Trump).
She has yet to address it. When people of color asked her to clarify what she meant, she had no comment toward it.
More than anything though, looking at her past calls on policies, she has always shifted her opinion on what is “popular” which makes her more power hungry then someone who truly believes in the things she says in her speeches. I truly believe she is all for women power and equality but it is important to stop talking about white feminism and talk about intersectional feminism. White women make around 80 cents to the dollar a man makes, but you have to understand that latinas and black women make less than 50 cents to the dollar. By her focusing on white issues, we are excluding millions of others who are in worse condition.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
I will have to say that I have heard plenty about Bernie. Saw a lot of his rallies. Found out that one of my friends was in one of them — in back of him, in fact — and told her, “I saw that one!” Seems to me that he has got a lot of media coverage.
But I’m also wondering how you think the rich, powerful media owners are going to use her?
I often hear Bernie supporters say that people don’t vote for him because they think he can’t win. I don’t get that. What’s the point in voting for someone just because you think everyone else is voting for them? That makes no sense to me. I would think that you would vote for who you believed in just so that your voice could be heard.
I’m confused about your arguments about white versus intersectionality since a large part of the reason that Hillary Clinton has so much backing from people of color is that she is very intersectional. She is constantly talking about how she is going to help different ethnic groups. You should listen to some of her speeches sometime and you will hear her talk about that a lot. Bernie is the one who hasn’t talked about issues regarding color very much, and has been criticized for that. I guess he started to get into it later in the game.
Plus, many people of color explain that they believe her agenda is more likely to get passed in Congress because she has a clear pathway showing how her legislation would get passed. Bernie Sanders doesn’t have anything like that so it seems more pie-in-the-sky.
I still don’t understand why someone with think “black” or “brown” when they hear the word super predator. It seems racist to assume that a super predator would be black or brown.
And I would actually hope that a politician would do what is popular. The whole point of democracy is for politicians to listen to what the people want — to find out what is popular — and to do what the people want.
In terms of Bernie’s media coverage, he replies a lot on social media. I’m talking about how the media spread word that Hillary had already clinched the win and the delegate votes despite that process occurring on the 25th. There was no way she could have gotten all those votes when the voting process hasn’t even happened yet. The media, meaning CNN and many other large television networks, are continuously playing Bernie as a for sure loser.
I definitely agree with you on getting your voice heard, but it similar to the reason why many choose to be in the binary (dem or rep) because they know that independent parties never have a chance of winning. It’s pretty ridiculous, but that’s how our system is, a two party system. I don’t blame people for voting Hillary when so many large news reporters continue to state that he will lose.
The word super predators has historically been a racist term used on young black men. It originated from a bill Bill Clinton proposed for gang violence and was a speech given to a house filled with Republicans talking about inner city kids in primarily violent, poor communities. I can say a lot of things, but Hillary has also acknowledged that she regrets saying this racist statement. (She regrets a lot of decisions she’s made in politics lol).
It’s interesting that you think Bernie doesn’t address these issues. I’ve seen, if anything, he addressed them first and Hillary followed suit. The most important thing about Bernie, however, is that he gives people who have been historically marginalized a voice. Instead of having him talk about these oppressive systems and injustice, he allows great organization leaders who personally know the struggle to talk about it. He has outrightly stated his opinion on every manner without fear of what anyone has to say. Hillary can’t do that as she has to be careful to keep her endorsements and sponsors.
Hopefully this answers some of the questions and comments you asked me. I’m not a great at articulating everything I want to say and can be a little everywhere, but I do like Hillary as a woman. The issue is that she says a lot of popular things and talks about intersectionality, but her actions don’t state otherwise. Bernie has always fought for the LGBTQ+ community, against racism, etc. His record has shown all this while Hillary has always changed to what was popular and allowed her to stay in power. How can we trust her to follow these things when she herself isn’t passionate about it?
I appreciate all of the thought you have put into this. I also appreciate your desire to do good in the world.
But she seems very passionate to me. She has dedicated her life to this work.
I do suggest that you Google transcripts or YouTube videos from the early primaries and you will see that Hillary Clinton was addressing intersectional issues: race, LGBTQ, etc. In fact, when she kept heavily winning the black vote many people pointed out that Clinton was addressing specific concerns of people of color while Bernie had 2 messages that were broader (and hugely important!): income inequality + money out of politics. In response, his people pointed out that inequality affects people of color, too. (Sure does!)
I expect that Bernie Sanders will have a lasting impact, and I am grateful for that.
I appreciate your concern and your passion. Best to you.
Congrats to American womanhood, now at the threshold of a truly historic moment that beckons from a tantalisingly close futurity. May be there are still trumps and burns on the way; yet it is, hopefully, going to be Hillary at the White House, come 2017.
I would find that exciting and opening up minds and opportunities in terms of what’s possible for women.
She is a corporate shill. With her, we can count on more and more Monsanto agriculture; we can count on continuing the taxpayer subsidies to the oil industry, even as their products make the planet unlivable; but don’t worry, she’s a military-industrial hawk and as the planet descends into climate change hell, she will defend our shores from the climate refugees we have created, with only the best munitions.
It’s true that she is an inspiration. She succeeded in a world where women were frequently invisible. But she did so by stooping to the worst of the political cheap tricks–she became them. She did not transform politics or raise it to a higher level, she merely bested the Machiavellian tactics that made this country ugly from the start. She may win, she may hold office. But she’ll do so having won the hot potato of environmental degradation. Unfortunately, she is not the enlightened or transformational leader needed now. We’ll all go down–and the first woman president will take the blame. We’ll get to live in Hillary’s Hell.
Really?!
Reminds me of my crazy right-winger friends who believed we would have an Islamic terrorist takeover of the United States, instigated by Barack Hussein Obama, by now.
We must get money out of politics, and I am working hard to do that through my work with Common Cause — working in conjunction with Move to Amend, California Clean Money, and others.
Unfortunately, because so many citizens – especially swing voters – don’t pay attention to anything but political ads during “Modern Family” one candidate cannot unilaterally disarm without the other one winning.
If you look at how the Supreme Court votes on legalized bribery, you will find that justices nominated by Democrats vote against legal bribery, and justices nominated by Republicans vote for legal bribery. We must get a Democrat in the White House!
Hillary Clinton will be good for the planet, too.
Clinton supporter, Paul Krugman, put the point well in his New York Times column, “Planet on the Ballot” (edited):
In this presidential election we know what is at stake: the fate of the planet.
There’s a revolution in renewable energy: the cost of electricity generated by wind and sun has dropped dramatically, while costs of storage, crucial to making renewables fully competitive with conventional energy, are plunging as we speak.
The result is that we’re only a few years from a world in which carbon-neutral sources of energy could replace much of our consumption of fossil fuels at quite modest cost.
A comprehensive system like cap and trade or carbon taxes would be most effective. But something like the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which would use flexible regulations imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency on major emitters, should be enough to get us a long way toward the goal.
This is by far the most important issue there is and salvation is clearly within our grasp.
The next president won’t need to pass comprehensive legislation, or indeed any legislation, to take a big step toward saving the planet. Dramatic progress in energy technology has put us in a position where executive action — action that relies on existing law — can achieve great things. All we need is an executive willing to take that action, and a Supreme Court that won’t stand in its way.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/opinion/planet-on-the-ballot.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fpaul-krugman&action=click&contentCollection=opinion®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=20&pgtype=collection
I personally have an electric car and solar panels, leaving me with a pretty small carbon footprint. So what he says makes a lot of sense to me!
I worry greatly that lack of enthusiasm for the Democratic nominee will make a Trump Presidency much more likely. That really is scary!
Then, maybe you should vote for Krugman. Hillary is supported by every industry that benefits from the status quo. I didn’t like her in 2008 and I won’t support her now.
Vote for Krugman and help Trump get elected? NO WAY!!!!!
You like Pres. Trump better? And the conservative Supreme Court who will be in place for many years? That is a very scary proposition.
I am happy that Bernie Sanders has helped to move the US toward being more progressive. My only concern was that his candidacy could lead to division and demonization of his opponent — which unfortunately it too often has. I am quite worried that we will end up with Pres. Trump
I am finished with voting for the lesser of two evils. It’s still evil. My bottom line in voting is environmental.
Hillary is too entrenched in the money of Monsanto, Wall Street, Big Oil, and the Military-industrial complex. She is a feminist, stuck in the realities of the 1970s and in that, is just as dangerous as Trump.
Surely I don’t like what Trump could do to the Supreme Court. But unless we start to make a difference in the planet, it will be too late. Already, scientists are debating whether we’ve already reached the tipping point. Climate change is now.
People are dying from heat in India. Crops are dying throughout Africa and they’ve had to move the artwork up a floor at the Louvre–because of recurring severe flooding. It’s as they warned, wet gets wetter–dry gets drier.
Though we do not acknowledge it, we already have climate change refugees in this country–Katrina victims who cannot go home, Alaskan fire victims whose homes are gone and Native Americans off the Gulf Coast whose island homes are now under the rising waves. Trump is a climate change denier. Hillary is an incrementalist, who doesn’t believe we should disrupt the economy, who doesn’t understand that opportunity lies in the solutions, who is so beholden to oil interests that she is unable to make the shift. We don’t have time to wait until the passing of the lesser evil.
What will 43 million Californians do, next year, when the El Nino relief passes and the state returns to its downward drought spiral? How long until people have to leave–not because of housing prices, but because nothing comes out when they turn on the faucet? Where will they go? Florida? (as the waves and salt ocean waters infiltrate into already stressed aquifers) The Eastern Seaboard? (as sea levels rise and hurricanes become more frequent and severe) The South? (which is also becoming unbearably hot) You tell me, now, before people have to begin voting with their feet. No, this is no time for incrementalism, making things a teensy bit better. That’s just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. I’ve been watching the climate change issue since 1978, waiting for enlightened government to step in an make a change. All that time I hooked my hope on the Democrats. This time around, my eyes are open. My Party is just as corrupt as the other guys. They will not make change as long as their hands are in the pockets of the status quo.
I’m walking my talk this time and will vote for any rationale candidate who talks sense about environmental issues.
Unfortunately, not voting for the lesser of two evils leaves you, in effect, voting for the biggest evil.
If we had a parliamentary system you could vote for whomever you wanted without the candidate you most dislike winning. Because in parliamentary systems the left works as a block and so does the right.
But because we have a “winner take all” system in the United States, when the left splits, the right wins. (and vice-versa)
If Bernie ran for President and didn’t take any money then the swing voters — who don’t pay much attention other than political ads — would vote for whoever they saw advertised. And the right would win. Primaries are different because only the most politically engaged vote in them.
Also, just because you take money doesn’t mean you do what the moneyed interests want. Obama took Wall Street money and yet reigned them in after the crash. Which really pissed them off. Teddy Roosevelt did something similar.
When Bernie entered the race I was of two minds: 1) happy that he was moving the conversation and the Democratic Party left. 2) worried that his opponent would be demonized. Because I had seen that happen in so many races among Dems. Unfortunately #2 has often happened with Bernie supporters.
When Ralph Nader ran with the Green Party, he split the left and Al Gore lost.
And so we got George W. Bush and a conservative Supreme Court with lifetime appointments.
The next president will nominate many Supreme Court justices. And they will be there for a lifetime.
The best outcome is surely voting for the furthest left candidate who can actually win AND put pressure on whoever wins the Presidency to do the right thing.
Nader was always a protest vote. I understood that–as did everyone else. That is not true of Bernie. He was, and is, a legitimate candidate with a serious shot at the office. If you take away all the party and voter fraud shenanigans, it’s probable that Bernie carried the popular vote in the primary. Moreover, he has a much better chance against Trump in the general. Sanders appeals to both Independent voters and moderate Republicans in a way that Clinton cannot rival. Hillary’s negatives will drag her down in the campaign. Her continued failure to reach out to Sanders voters in a meaningful way, virtually guarantees that they’ll vote independent or sit this one out.
This is all moot, because I doubt that Bernie will run independent. Despite the deplorable, shabby and outright illegal things the DNC and it’s affiliates did to him during the campaign, he’s not the kind of guy to turn his back on a pledge. Not so, Hillary. Their all making hay about the “platform,” as though Hillary (of all people) would honor the platform once in office. She’ll do what she does, and always has done, which is to put Hillary and her personal agenda ahead of the country. Nobody knows who, between Hillary and Trump, is “furthest to the left.” Hillary is further right than many Republicans I know. Trump is an enigma, driven by ego (openly) rather than by ideology. In that respect, he’s probably more honest than Hillary, since she’s ego driven, and ideologically dishonest. Already she’s said Bill will be in charge of “reinvigorating the economy.” For his part, Bill is on tape, reassuring his conservative friends, not to worry, Social Security is on the table. It’s all on the table, all of our democratic values–up for sale to the highest bidder. And, you think that Obama didn’t cave to the money? Why didn’t any of the bankers behind the crash go to jail? They paid fines–a slap on the wrist. And they took the bailout money and consolidated it by buying up other banks–so they are, once again, too big to fail. Money is corrupting and has no place in politics. Hillary hasn’t said boo about the erosive effect of corporate money on the democratic process. How could she? You watch. A Clinton administration will sell us out, wholesale, start a war, and use the exigency of conflict as a reason to re-elect. No, Hillary is not a candidate that we can afford.
As for the Supreme Court, do you trust that Hillary, Queen of Monsanto, will give us a jurist that we can trust? She’s shown her colors on civil rights. She’s shown her colors on the environment. She clearly supports policies that would shut down free speech and net neutrality. She supports media consolidation and supported parts of the Patriot Act that would make any civil libertarian’s ears curl. Just what is it that you value that you think Hillary will protect? It’s time to look close and take stock of what she offers. Actually, it’s probably too late.
By the way, I haven’t turned on Hillary and the Democratic Party. They turned, far to the right, back in the mid 1990s–and they’ve never looked back. Study your history, study her history–you’ll see.
You’d be surprised at how educated I am on the issue.
I realize that Hillary and the Democratic Party turned right. And the major culprit is money in politics, mixed with people not realizing the problem of money in politics or being educated on issues.
Because so many people are lazy, uninterested or overworked, and don’t educate themselves a lot of them vote based on campaign ads.
So you can’t solve the problem by asking politicians to ignore the money because when they ignore the money they lose. And so legalized bribery has its effects.
But I must say that I work with members of Congress of both parties on both poverty issues and climate issues (results.com, citizensclimatelobby.org). Despite money in politics, nearly all of the Democrats are with us on both climate and poverty. But we can’t get anything passed because the Republicans won’t get on board. And money is the problem.
So I began also working with Common Cause (commoncause.org) and other groups trying to get money out of politics.
Bernie Sanders has done much to publicize my issues, for which I am grateful.
Unfortunately, as a politically active person I have seen, time and again, Democratic opponents become demonized, when they are not in actual fact demons. Or at best, split the left.
A few examples Nick Kristoff discusses in today’s New York Times piece:
In 1968, liberal disenchantment with the Democratic nominee, Hubert Humphrey, assisted in the election of Richard Nixon. In 1980, Edward Kennedy’s endless challenge to Jimmy Carter undermined Carter and probably gave Ronald Reagan a lift. Iin 2000, many liberals regarded Al Gore the way some see Clinton today, as a flip-flopper short on inspiration and convictions. So a small number voted for a third-party candidate, Ralph Nader, helping put George W. Bush in office.
When Bernie joined the race I was optimistic that he could have a big impact in moving the conversation to the left. But I also feared that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, would be demonized. She isn’t a demon any more than any of the other demonized Democrats are. And I worry that the party will be split and we will end up with Pres. Trump and a conservative Supreme Court with lifetime appointments — busily fighting to bolster carbon companies and money in politics.
Well, we agree that the problem is money in politics. Hillary will do nothing to correct that erosion of democracy. Make no mistake, what we are talking about here isn’t this candidate or that candidate. Other countries have now (accurately) assessed our system and categorized it as an oligarchy. We’re talking about the demise of democracy. Have you noticed the reaction by the Presumptive Nominee? The Party? They’re not talking big tent conciliatory. They’re smug. Their dirty tricks and media blackout have worked. What happens when you reward bad behavior? Right.
Bernie needs to run indie or join the Greens. I can think of worse things, over the long haul, than that the Democrats lose. What point is there to winning, if in the long term it means we lose the fundamental inclusiveness of democracy?
I know that your heart is in the right place, but being ok with Trump winning is actually a privileged position to take.
Maybe you are a self-sufficient white woman past childbearing age, or already have dependable birth control. Others aren’t so lucky and would suffer greatly under Trump/ all 3 branches of government in Republican hands — some for a lifetime.
Many of us worry about Supreme Court lifetime appointees who will vote to take away a woman’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy, or chip away at a woman’s access to birth control (Hobby Lobby). Laws against abortion don’t stop it — they drive it underground. So a lot of girls and women will suffer and die over self-induced abortions or seeking out back alley abortions.
Others will suffer and die because they have lost Obamacare once Republicans control all three arms of government.
And a lot of people — maybe not you — will be hurt when Supreme Court justices, appointed for life, continually sustain racist policies.
And policies that favor oil companies over renewable energy. Bringing us past the tipping point for a sustainable planet. WE DON’T HAVE TIME TO WAIT TO SAVE THE PLANET.
We know for a fact that Republican appointed Supreme Court justices have done all of those things.
But Democratic Supreme Court justices – INCLUDING CLINTON APPOINTEES – HAVE VOTED FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, to help women and people of color and the poor, and against money in politics.
As I said, nearly all Democrats support every climate and poverty issue we bring them. But nearly all House Republicans block everything, so that no improvements can be passed. A few brave GOP got “primaried” by candidates to their right via $ in politics.
Demonizations of Clinton don’t fit reality any more than demonizations of Obama do.
I worry when people willingly side with with the devil who has pledged to harm all of us over the demon they have created in their own minds — with the help of right-wing propaganda, which many Sanders supporters were drawn to in an attempt to bolster their candidate.
If the right-wing controls all three arms of government the powerless will become even more disempowered, planet sustainability will pass the tipping point, and it will be even harder to fight back.
If voting your conscience means putting Trump in the White House, that support will harm a lot of people.
I have a feeling that this comment thread will never end until one of us says we agree with the other, so lets just end it here without agreement. I’ll be posting on this more in the future, possibly even using conversations I’ve had on this post in my blog. And you can chime in again.
I know you have the best of intentions and do your best to do what you think is best for America and the rest of the planet.
You have my best wishes, my friend! 🙂
As a feminist, I would really like to see a woman president, just not Hillary. She supports a patriarchal militarist system more so than many hawks. She was the most pro-interventionist member of Obama’s cabinet and supported military intervention in Libya, Syria and Iraq. Just look at the results today. If she wins, she is very likely to get the US in another war. Her rhetoric regarding Russia is scary…
The people must make their peaceful wishes known. Otherwise, all I can say is that hindsight is 20/20. I know that in the case of Libya the Obama administration was trying to prevent another Rwanda. If they knew then what they know now…
I agree with Lynn, I would love to see a woman president, but I’d rather see Jill Stein become president instead of Hillary. Stein is part of the Green party and is what I feel is the exemplary representation of what a true feminist is today.
I do understand Hillary’s journey on choosing to run for presidency, but I’m still unsure on whether or not she is fit to be a great president. Some of her actions have made me question her morals, rhetoric, and ideology.
Like what?
I hear a lot of complaints but when I ask for specifics, people don’t make the same complaints when someone else does them, Whether it’s a Republican or Barack Obama.
If you live in California it may be safe to vote for the Green party, But I’d watch the polls or you might inadvertently end up supporting Donald Trump and his special brand of racism and sexism.
“As a feminist, I should feel a thrill right now. I grieve that I don’t.” — Naomi Klein
Feminists aren’t a monolith. Sheryl Sandberg says, “I’d Love To See Hillary Clinton Be President”
My oh my ! 😉 I do think it is great that America now has the female candidate for president, but NOT Clinton ! Another four years of the same elite looking after their own interests while the country goes down the toilet. Both Trump and Sanders offer change, either would be egoistic and dictatorial, but so would Clinton to keep the status quo going. The trouble with politics is there is no unity, common purpose. The only way that happens is by having a war. Will Obama let the elections run its course, or start the big one as all the signs are pointing towards a massive world war. God help America and the rest of the world ! ❤
Hillary Clinton has spent her life in public service. And I don’t see her policies as being elite.
Republicans accused her — and all Democrats — of being elite. This is a strategy to take your own biggest weakness and accuse your enemy of having it. And if you repeat it often enough people tend to believe it. The Republicans cater to the elite, but then accuse Democrats of doing that.
But people are Democrats because they want to help the non-elites. That’s why I became a Democrat. I also meet with my members of Congress on poverty issues and the Democrats always support helping the poor and middle-class. With Republicans it’s like pulling teeth. Their primary constituency is rich business interests and the wealthy. Hillary Clinton spoke at one of our conferences. My anti-poverty group is called RESULTS. Check it out: results.com.
Yes, Hillary made a lot of money giving speeches to Wall Street, but that doesn’t mean she has to do their bidding. Barack Obama, Teddy Roosevelt and others have taken from Wall Street and then gone against them.
“But people are Democrats because they want to help the non-elites”
Then why are a multitude of families, no, towns and cities in survival mode ? Why is such a wonderful government $20 trillion in debt, yet the Clintons are rolling in money since coming into office. I could go on, but what’s the point. I have been watching the speeches from the three candidates since super Tuesday and the predominant words are to fight & battle each other. Politics is an illusion fuelled by propaganda, because of that I have never voted. There is one government coming, not the New World Order and I am ready for it to come. 😀
$ in politics.
For more, see my response to AV Walters, below.
But even with the money in politics Democrats vote much more strongly to help the poor and middle-class. Like I said, I know because I personally work with members of Congress on issues that help to bolster the middle-class and alleviate poverty. The Democrats are always on our side and support everything we do. It’s really hard to get Republican support.
I vote Hillary. She in my mind is the right WOMAN for the job. Hillary has had an enormous amount of experience over many years. Great post…. 🙂
Thank you. I love Bernie and think he would make a great president. But I’m even more excited about Hillary.
I can understand you loving Bernie. Is it regarding his policies and plans for his Presidency? I confess that I don’t know anything about Bernie or his policies. I live in Australia and I confess that I am not familiar with US politics. I have little knowledge. I guess I am more familiar with Hillary…. 🙂
Bernie’s further left. I like them both. Here’s more info, if you like:
Why I love Hillary AND Bernie
https://broadblogs.com/2016/03/11/race-for-the-presidency-the-dems/
Thank you for the link. I will have a look soon.
🙂